Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas

Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas: A Complete Digest of the Records of All the Countries of the Western Hemisphere is the most comprehensive collection of information on colonial period records covering the entire Western Hemisphere, both North and South America. As far as I know, there is no other single reference for records sources covering the colonial periods for the entire hemisphere.

This book examines the colonial period from the earliest European colonization in the Western Hemisphere until:

the American Revolution for the thirteen colonies

statehood was obtained for other U.S. states

Latin American countries which did not declare independence from Spain and Portugal until 1808 or later

Caribbean countries and dependencies through about 1810

the abolition of the slave trade, for slavery related records, including dates of emancipation

For each country, the author Christina K. Schaefer, provides an historical background and brief sketches of the records themselves, plus descriptions for the principle holding of the major repositories. Record groups are broken down into similar categories for each country. Common sections include church and ecclesiastical records, census records, notarial records, governmental and municipal records, military records, land records, etc. A list of suggested readings rounds out each chapter.

At 814 pages, this reference is indeed extensive. It may be literally impossible to cover every possible resource in a single project. Still, Schaefer has provided a treasure trove of information vital to genealogical record finding. If you need colonial period records for anywhere in the Americas, this book can help.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part One: Going Beyond the Line, a Chronology

Chronology of colonial history

Dates of the first colonial governors

Part Two: Latin America

Introduction

Colonies founded by Spain

Argentina

Bolivia

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Uruguay

Venezuela

Colonies founded by England, France, The Netherlands, and Portugal

Brazil

The Guianas

Belize/British Honduras

The Falkland Islands

Part Three: The Caribbean

Introduction

The Bahamas

Barbados

Bermuda

The British Leeward Islands

The British Windward Islands

Cuba

The French Antilles

Hispaniola

Jamica

The Netherlands Antilles

Puerto Rico

Trinidad and Tobago

The Virgin Islands

Part Four: The Thirteen Colonies, Maine, and Vermont

Introduciton

New England Colonies

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

Middle Colonies

Delaware

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Maryland

Southern Colonies

Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

Georgia

Part Five: Other U.S. States with settlements prior to the Revolution

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

New Mexico

Ohio

Tennessee

Texas

Wisconsin

Part Six: Canada

New France

Introduction to New France

Quebec

Ontario

Acadia

Introduction to Acadia

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

Prince Edward Island

Other North American Colonies

Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon

Newfoundland and Labrador

Rupert’s Land

Part Seven: Resources for Further Research

Religious groups in the New World

Africa and the New World

Colonial sources in Denmark

Colonial sources in France

Colonial sources in Great Britain

Colonial sources in Germany

Colonial sources in The Netherlands

Colonial sources in Portugal

Colonial sources in Spain

Colonial sources in Sweden

Colonial sources in Switzerland

Foreign records at the Library of Congress

Index

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